Please note that this is an online workshop conducted via Zoom. Participants will be provided information on how to join the online sessions.
Open to writers of all levels and backgrounds, this workshop will introduce and revisit key elements of poetic literacy and craft. What is craft? It is that which answers how: how to break a line and decide on a title, yes, but also how to straddle the line between nature and art, how to please experts without alienating newcomers, how to write about love without sentimentality, how to write about the world without condescension, how to surprise without shock, how to make the old new and the truth felt. Craft is how to get away with goofy puns and tearful farewells alike. In this poetry workshop, to uncover the craft that animates them, we will closely examine poems by Herbert, Cavafy, Rilke, Lucille Clifton, Kay Ryan, Naomi Shihab Nye, Kim Addonizio, Eduardo C. Corral, and others. We will share our own visions and revisions and generously discuss how to improve them. While some generative prompts will be provided, most class time will be reserved for instruction and discussion.